Southgate: England door not closed

The trio could all play for England again despite their respective ages, says the Three Lions boss

England manager Gareth Southgate will consider calling Ashley Young, Jamie Vardy and Gary Cahill up in future despite the trio being left out of his latest squad.

Vardy and Cahill, part of the group that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, indicated this week they would be taking a step back from international football.

Young, meanwhile, has lost his place in the squad to Manchester United team-mate Luke Shaw despite being England's first choice left-back throughout the World Cup.

All three players are in their thirties and Southgate confirmed he is looking to a younger generation, although Adam Lallana, 30, returns to the squad after missing out on Russia 2018.

"I've had discussions with them around their involvement and what we'd be looking to do in the next few months in particular," Southgate said.

"Those guys are older and – in a couple of their cases – aren't playing much with us. I recognise that, when you're travelling with England and not playing for a fair bit of time, that's a different sort of role. I did that myself for a few years.

"There's a point where I don't need to know what those guys can do as we're looking to bring younger players through. It was great that we were able to have mature conversations about that."

The England squad for September 8's Nations League clash with Spain is much the same as Southgate's 23-man selection for the World Cup, with 18 players retaining their spots.

Liverpool defender Joe Gomez, who missed the World Cup due to injury, is included after a strong start to the new Premier League season, while Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy could win his first cap.

And Southgate feels consistency will be key for the Three Lions as they build towards Euro 2020 and beyond.

"We're obviously coming off the back of a successful summer, so I think there's a good foundation for us to build on," Southgate added.

"With us only being three games into the season, I felt some continuity was important so those who were with us in the summer deserve the right to go again. Others haven't really had the opportunity to force themselves ahead of those guys.

"From here we have a two-year lead into the European Championships, so I want us to try and capture what we had this summer and why they felt it went well – but, once we're through this camp, there's going to be competition from others. People are going to have to play at a good level to retain their places."